In most RPGs (MMO or otherwise) I've ever played, very little happens to change the world unless the player triggers it, thus emphasizing the importance of the player. That tends to reduce immersion and leave endgame as the traditional cycle of getting better gear so you can kill a bigger monster.

In fact, I can only think of one RPG-like game that broke this mold: Space Rangers. In that game, the galaxy was being overrun by Dominators. You were a single ship captain tasked to resist them wherever possible. Progression worked like a traditional RPG in that you did quests, killed enemies, got exp, earned credits, bought bigger ships and prototype weapons, and even looted Dominator weapons.

The difference was that the war went on no matter what you did. You weren't the only space ranger in the galaxy, and the Dominators were constantly launching attacks on free sectors. You could be farming credits in one sector, while watching distant sectors fall. You constantly had to decide if you would join the fight to push back the Dominators, or keep levelling. Progression was only a means to an end, not the end itself.

I'd love to see something like that in Project Gorgon!